Trojans Record Four Top-Five Finishes on First Day of Vanderbilt Invitational

NASHVILLE – Little Rock claimed a quartet of top-five finishes and several personal best marks as action wrapped up on the first day of the Vanderbilt Invitational in Nashville Friday night.
 
Gabby Ayitefio posted the second-best pentathlon mark in school history in her first collegiate pentathlon competition, placing fourth after scoring 3,259 points. She was followed by Jayden Gilbert, whose 2,585 points scored ranks third in school history.
 
On the men's side of the multis, Ethan Sorrels scored 2,718 working halfway through the heptathlon and is looking for a strong finish on Saturday. He enters the final half of the competition in third place.
 
The men's distance medley relay team registered a fourth-place finish as the quartet of Spencer Cardinal, Juan Garza, Dominic Wood and Aaron Soltmann posted a time of 10:34.89. The women's relay squad of Ariana Garcia, Shelby Dunlap, Panagiota Lazarou and Bailey Cronin ran 13:13.56 to finish eighth.
 
Johnathan Jones cleared 6-6.75 (2.00m) to place fourth in the high jump while Ryan Curington registered a mark of 23-5.25 (7.14m) to finish eighth in the long jump. On the women's side of the long jump, Jaelyn Tucker posted a career-best mark and the seventh-best jump in school history as she posted a leap of 17-11 (5.46m).
 
Action in the final day of the Vanderbilt Invitational gets underway Saturday at 10 a.m. Running events will be broadcast live on ESPN+.
 
For the latest information on Little Rock Track & Field, make sure to check out LRTrojans.com. You can also find the team on social media at @LittleRockTFXC on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
 
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